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Caliban (Earth-616)
__TOC__ Real Name: Unrevealed Nicknames: None Former Aliases: Hound, Hellhound, Death, Pestilence Other Current Aliases: None Status Occupation: Adventurer Legal Status: Unrevealed Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Member of the Morlocks; Former member of X-Factor, X-Force and Apocalypse's Horsemen Base of Operations: The Xavier Institute; Formerly The Alley, beneath Manhattan, New York Origin Place of Birth: Unrevealed Known Relatives: None First Appearance (as Caliban): Uncanny X-Men #148 First Appearance (as Death): X-Factor #50 First Appearance (as Pestilence): Cable (Vol 2) #73 History Caliban is a mutant who was born with a freakish appearance which caused his father to name him (or possibly only nickname him) after the grotesque being in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. At some point Caliban was recruited by the mutant Callisto to use his superhuman ability to locate other mutants for her, whom she organized into the underground community known as the Morlocks. Caliban lived beneath the Manhattan streets with them, but felt lonely even among his fellow mutant outcasts. One evening Caliban sensed the presence of mutants in a New York City nightclub. He entered only to find himself in combat against the mutants Dazzler, Storm, and Kitty Pryde (now called Shadowcat), as well as against the original Spider-Woman. The battle ended peacefully, with the four women allowing the pathetic Caliban, who only sought friendship, to return to his underground home. Sometime later, the X-Men, the team of mutant adventurers to which Shadowcat then belonged, found itself in conflict with the Morlocks. Shadowcat, suffering from fever, was held captive by Caliban, who had fallen in love with her. Intent on helping her teammates and escaping, Pryde promised to stay with Caliban forever if he would help the X-Men against his fellow Morlocks. Caliban agreed and carried out his part of the bargain, but Pryde did not keep her promise and returned to the X-Men. Weeks later the Morlocks kidnapped Pryde on orders from the vengeful Callisto and attempted to force her to marry Caliban, but Caliban, realizing that she did not truly wish to live with him, released her from her promise. Since then Caliban and Kitty Pryde have been friends. The original X-Factor team rescued Caliban from being killed in the massacre of most of the Morlock population by Mister Sinister's Marauders. Caliban vowed vengeance on the killers of the Morlocks. Caliban took up residence at X-Factor's headquarters and soon joined their team. However, X-Factor's archfoe Apocalypse offered to grant Caliban enough superhuman power to wreak vengeance on his enemies in exchange for becoming Apocalypse's servant. Apocalypse used advanced genetic engineering methods to increase Caliban's size and strength. Apocalypse renamed Caliban "Hellhound," and he joined Apocalypse's Horsemen. Still later, Caliban took the name "Death." Caliban and the other Horsemen were manipulated by Mister Sinister into serving him. Caliban attacked his former allies Cyclops and Phoenix (Jean Grey), and brought them to Sinister, who turned them over to the terrorist Stryfe. Alongside the other Horsemen, Caliban then battled the X-Men but was defeated by them. Removed from the influence of Apocalypse and Mister Sinister, Caliban reverted to his original, non-violent personality. Cable recruited Caliban into his team, X-Force, in which Caliban continues to serve loyally to this day. Moreover, Caliban now regards Cable as one of his closest friends. Later, Caliban once again fell under the thrall of Apocalypse. He mutated even further, becoming much more aggressive. Caliban threatened to kill X-Force in his first act as Pestilence, First Horseman of the Apocalypse. Following the Horsemen's defeat, Caliban sought out Apocalypse, who had merged with Cyclops, stalwart leader of the X-Men. By the time the amalgamated entity released Caliban from his service, he already had begun reverting to his original, childlike personality. Characteristics Height: 6'8" (Current); 5' 8" (Original) Weight: 275 lbs (124.7 kg) (Current); 150 lbs (68 kg) (Original) Eyes: Black Hair: None Unusual Features: Caliban has large eyes with no visible oroses amd yellow corneas. His skin is purplish in color (originally pale white). Strength Level Caliban originally possessed the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engaged in minimal regular exercise. However, if Caliban was panic-stricken, the adrenaline released in his body temporarily gave him superhuman strength. The limits of that superhuman strength are unknown, but he proved to be nearly a match for the original Spider-Woman, who could lift (press) about 7 tons. As a result of Apocalypse's bioengineering, Caliban now possesses superhuman strength allowing him to lift (press) approximately 10 tons. Known Powers Caliban is able to psionically detect and track other mutants. Caliban is also able to sense the fear in a person and heighten their sensation. When Caliban was converted into Death his strength and durability were augmented. He could also further increase his strength by drawing from the fear of others. As Pestilence, Caliban gained the ability to secrete neurotoxins from his claws. These toxins would degrade their victim mentally and physically. A subset of this ability was specifically designed to harm Mister Sinister. Abilities No known abilities. Weapons & Equipment * Miscellaneous * Notes * Trivia * Notable Appearances *Uncanny X-Men #148 - First Appearance Complete List Related Articles * External Links * References * ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Mutant Characters Category:Single Characters Category:Black Eyes Category:No Hair Category:Purple Skin Category:Morlocks Category:X-Factor members Category:X-Force members Category:Apocalypse's Horsemen Category:Copy Edit